Dreaming of you
by BlazingEmblem
Summary: When a series of events convinces Makoto to spend the night at Ren's, they both find them themselves dreaming about their futures. Written for Day 2 of Shumako Week 2020, Sleepover/Dreaming.


She couldn't help but have a bright smile on her face.

She had worked incredibly hard these past few weeks, studying even harder than usual for exams.

She had done incredibly! The top of her grade, in fact.

So now, she had some time to relax with her boyfriend and watch a movie together.

They had been together for several months now, and she couldn't be happier about it.

Feeling positively elated, she tilted her head to kiss Ren on the cheek.

Her good mood must have been infectious, because as soon as he turned towards her and saw her smile, his lips curved into an equally happy expression.

"I didn't realize Yakuza movies could be so romantic." he chuckled.

"I'm just in a wonderful mood." she beamed. "I've got top of my grade in exam scores, and I'm watching a Yakuza movie with my boyfriend."

"It's nice to relax every once in a while." he nodded. "Any other movies you want to watch?"

"Actually… I have to leave soon." she informed him.

"Oh?"

"I was talking to my sister, and she told me that if I did well on my exams, she'd treat me to dinner." she explained. "Sorry I can't stay longer…"

While she didn't really need another incentive to do well on her exam, she wasn't sure how else to broach the topic with her sister, and how much she desperately wanted to spend time with her.

Ever since that day where Sae had snapped at her, calling her 'useless', their relationship had been even more distant than before.

And she desperately wanted to repair their relationship.

"Hey, no worries." Ren said. "She's your sister. Have fun, ok?"

"Thank you for being so understanding." she smiled.

His understanding nature was just one of the many things she adored about him.

"You know… I got the top exam score in my grade too." he smirked. "Do I get a reward?"

She smiled, pecking him on the lips. "How's that?"

"Looks like you'd pass an exam on love too." he grinned.

"Well, I've done plenty of studying." she giggled.

* * *

The movie ended shortly afterward, and much to her embarrassment, she couldn't help but shout in excitement during the climax.

"Sounds like you really liked it." Ren chuckled.

*Buzzzt*

"Oh! That must be sis!" she gasped.

Feeling the buzz of her phone, she dug into her pocket.

Sae: Something came up at work, so I'll be staying overnight. I left my card on the table, so just order some food to be delivered.

Her good mood and smile instantly vanished, and she found herself frowning as she glanced towards the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." she whispered.

"Makoto." he said, narrowing his eyes.

She bit her lip, knowing that he saw right through her lie.

She didn't want to ruin the moment, but…

She figured that they should be honest with each other.

"Sis canceled." she confessed. "She needs to stay overnight at work again."

"Oh…" he mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok." she replied. "I'm used to it at this point. She doesn't really spend a lot of time around the house."

Glancing over at him, she saw a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What is it?"

"Would you like to stay over for dinner?" he asked.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I don't want to intrude…"

"Never." he shook his head. "No one would mind you staying for dinner."

"Thank you." she beamed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You're so sweet."

* * *

"Sojiro! I hunger!"

The older man simply chuckled, fixing curry and coffee for Futaba, Ren, and herself.

"Blue Mountain is your favorite, right?" Sojiro asked her. "That's what the kid told me anyway."

"A-Are you sure?' she stammered. "Aren't Blue Mountain beans very expensive?"

"The two of you did well on your exams, right?" Sojiro smiled.

"So let's celebrate!" Futaba cheered.

"T-Thank you…" she trailed off.

"Speaking of school, I heard that you spent some time at school yourself." Sojiro brought up to Futaba.

"Oh yeah." Futaba grinned. "Makoto and Ren gave me a tour of Shujin. It was a pretty tough boss, but I managed."

Sojiro flashed Ren and her an appreciative smile.

"I'm just exams are over." Ren sighed. "It feels like forever since I'd have a chance to relax."

"You two should come over some day!" Futaba offered. "There's a Neo Featherman marathon coming next weekend!"

"Me too?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah!" Futaba grinned. "We can stay up all night watching it!"

"All night?" she sighed. "That's not very healthy, Futaba."

Futaba scoffed, turning towards Ren.

"What do you think, Ren?" Futaba asked. "It sounds pretty cool, right?"

"Well… I suppose that does sound like fun." he agreed.

He always did have trouble saying no to her.

"Ren…" she sighed.

"I mean… once in a while, it's ok." he defended. "And it's the weekend, too."

"Well… I suppose you have a point." she relented. "And it does sound like fun."

"All right!" Futaba exclaimed. "Lookin' forward to it!"

The rest of dinner was spent in pleasant conversation, and for once…

She felt like she belonged.

* * *

After dinner, Futaba stayed for a while to talk before leaving with Sojiro, who had closed up shop for the day, leaving just the two of them.

Well, the two of them and Morgana, who was taking a catnap at the moment.

She wished she could take the time to relax, but when she glanced out the window…

"It's… really pouring out there…" she whispered.

"I'll start looking for an umbrella." Ren offered.

"That's not-"

*BOOOOOOOM*

A loud bolt of lightning cut her off, knocking out the power and plunging the room into darkness.

"Ahhh!"

"Makoto?!"

She heard him scrambling for something, and she might have been making it rather hard, with how hard she was clinging to him.

*BOOOM*

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorrysorrysorry!"

She shut her eyes, her fear overtaking her.

*BOOOOM*

"Sis whereareyou I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!"

Feeling a strong desire to protect her, he wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh…" he soothed. "It's ok."

"Huh?"

"I'm here for you." he said, cupping her check. "And I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled, relaxing just a bit.

"I'm going to close the curtains. Is that ok?" he asked.

She hastily nodded.

He left his phone beside her to give her some light, slowly moving to close the curtains and, after thinking for a moment, moving the couch further away from the window.

Glancing back at her, he saw such adoring smile on her face that it made he could feel his heart melting.

"You want to lie on the couch?" he asked.

She hastily nodded.

* * *

The two of them moved to the couch, cuddled together.

Whenever lightning would flash, she would flinch, and Ren would attempt to distract and comfort her with little kisses to her forehead.

"I'm sorry." she muttered. "This was just supposed to be a day for us to relax, but I'd ruined it..."

"No you didn't." he assured her. "I… I don't think you could ruin anything."

"B-But… this whole fear is completely irrational!"

She was supposed to be the ever fearless and logical Queen.

"Most fears are irrational." he pointed out. "And everyone is afraid of something. _I'm _afraid of something."

She was momentarily surprised until she thought about it for a bit.

Ren did try to play the role of the fearless leader most of the time, but he was still human.

"What… are you afraid of, then?" she asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I guess… being alone." he answered. "Or feeling alone."

"Oh, Ren…" she whispered, feeling a pang of sympathy.

"Hey, it's ok now." he told her. "But the first few days were rough."

"How so?"

"With the assault charge, it was either come here or in a cell." he muttered. "But when I first came here, it still felt like a prison. Friends from back home stopped talking to me. My parents never called. And all the rumors…"

She instinctively held on to him a little tighter, as if to remind him that those days were over.

For both of them.

"I'm here for you, Ren." she whispered. "I'll always be there for you. You won't have to be alone."

"Hey…" he trailed off, smiling down at her. "That's supposed to be my line."

"Well… I want us to be equals." she said. "So… let's look after each other."

"Alright." he said. "Are you… staying the night?"

"Sis is working overnight again." she whispered. "I… don't want to be alone. The day of… my father's incident… there was a storm like t-this, a-and…"

"It's ok." he told her. "Everything's ok."

He began rubbing her back in order to calm her down.

He really was so understanding, and she wanted to let him know how much that meant to her.

"Ren, there's something I need to tell you."

He simply nodded, waiting for her to speak.

So she took a moment to prepare herself, and spoke.

"Thank you… for all of this." she beamed. "I love you, Ren."

He didn't respond immediately, but much to her delight, she could just make out the blush on his face.

He regained his composure quickly, however, flashing her a bright smile to match her own.

"Anything for my Queen." he said. "I love you too."

While they had never exchanged 'I love yous' before, she was glad their first had been reserved for such a special moment.

She nuzzled into his chest, not even the storm able to put a damper on her mood as she drifted to sleep, hoping for pleasant dreams...

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open, picking up on the subtle scent of coffee.

Noticing her state of dress (or lack thereof) she quickly threw on her underwear and one of Ren's shirts before heading towards the kitchen.

She rubbed at her eyes, smiling as she saw breakfast and her husband's coffee already prepared for her.

"Good morning, my sleepy Queen." Ren smiled, pecking her cheek.

"Good morning, dear." she smiled, sipping at her coffee, immediately perking up at her husband's wonderful brewing.

"Glad to finally have some time off for the holidays?" he asked.

"Yes." she nodded. "Things have been very busy at work lately."

"Well, we still need to get everything ready for when everyone comes to visit for the holidays." he pointed out.

"We've already finished dusting up the house." she told him.

They had been fairy meticulous in their dusting, especially in the glass cabinet where Buchi-kun was.

He was a priceless family heirloom, after all.

"Right, so we just need to finish making the food." he said. "Oh, and there's still the Christmas Party with the Thieves at Leblanc. You know how much everyone looks forward to that every year."

"I just hope it's not as embarrassing as the last surprise party you threw for me." she sighed.

"Come on, you liked it, didn't you… Mamakoto?" she joked.

"I-I'm not a mother!" she stammered. "Why did you and the other's throw me a party on Mother's Day?!"

"In my defense, it was Futaba who jokingly suggested 'throwing a party for the Team Mom'." he chuckled. "The rest of us just found it hilarious. And well, you may not be a mom now, but…"

He inched ever closer to her.

"We can change that." he whispered.

"H-Huh?" she stammered, her face starting to flush.

He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling into her shoulder.

"W-We should start preparing the food." she said. "I need to put the buns in the oven."

"So do I." he whispered.

She blushed even harder, before a smile graced her face.

She turned around, catching him off guard by pulling him into a deep kiss.

"I suppose we still have a bit of time to ourselves." she said, a small smirk on her face as she led him to the bedroom.

* * *

He glanced at the sleeping figure of his girlfriend, a peaceful smile on her face.

"Wonder what she's dreaming about?" he thought. "Must be nice, whatever it is."

Satisfied that she was ok now, he allowed himself to fall asleep as well.

* * *

Finished with another honest day of work, he spotted some nice looking flowers on the way home, the scarlet roses reminding him of his wife's eyes.

So naturally, he picked them up on the way home.

He parked his car in his garage, and as soon as he exited his car, he found himself tackled into a hug.

"Daddy!"

He chuckled, lifting his daughter into the air, causing her to squeal in delight.

"How's daddy's little princess doing today?" he smiled.

"Great! We drew pictures of our family in school today!" she beamed. "I drew you and mommy and little bro."

"Can I see it?" he asked.

"Yeah! Mommy put it on the fridge!" she beamed. "Oh! We've been learning how to read too!"

"Oh really?"

"Uh-huh." she responded. "Little bro tried to start reading like me, but he can't even hold the manga right. He held it upside down."

He let out a chuckle, the situation being all too familiar.

"How come little brothers and sisters are so dumb?" she grumbled.

"Hey now." he lightly scolded. "Don't be mean to your brother. And you know mommy has an older sister, right?"

He saw his daughter's face take on a thoughtful expression for a second before gasping.

"Auntie Sae?"

"That's right." he nodded. "Mommy's a little sibling too."

"But mommy's so cool!" she protested. "She beats up bad guys!"

She continued to think it over, her small child mind utterly perplexed.

"Say, where's your brother, anyway?" he asked.

"He's in the kitchen with mommy." she told him.

He thanked her, heading towards the kitchen where his son and wife were, passing through the living room, and the glass cabinet containing Makoto's Buchimaru plush.

He was a priceless family heirloom, after all.

Sure enough, there was a cute drawing on the fridge when he entered the kitchen, and he found himself smiling when he saw how wild she drew his hair.

Seeing his wife washing her hands at the sink, he wrapped his arms around her, pecking her cheek.

"Got something for you." he told her, handing her the flowers.

"Oh, they're lovely." she beamed. "Thank you so much!"

She gave him a chaste kiss before putting the flowers in a vase.

"H-Help me..."

Turning around, he saw his son holding Morgana tightly.

"Papa!" his son grinned. "Kitty!"

"Ack!" Morgana gasped, trying to struggle against his son's grip.

He let out a chuckle, bending down to ruffle his son's hair.

"Kazuhiko, put Mona down, ok?" he asked. "He needs to eat dinner soon too."

Kazuhiko nodded, putting Morgana down, who gave a sigh of relief.

"Did you spend time with Auntie Futaba today while mommy and I were at work?" he asked.

"Uh-huh!" Kazuhiko replied. "She got me a new toy."

"Did you say thank you?"

Kazuhiko quickly nodded, smiling.

"Hana! Kazuhiko!" Makoto called. "Dinner's ready!"

Everyone sat down at the table, save for Morgana, who was eagerly snacking at the food in his bowl.

"How was work today, dear?" Makoto asked.

"Really good." he answered. "Toranosuke and I have a lot of faith in the bill we just proposed to the rest of the Diet. Some people were really adamant about their disapproval, however."

"Are people bullying you at work, daddy?" Hana asked. "There are people who are bullies at my school, and they make me mad!"

"Well Hana, do you remember what we do about bullies?" Makoto asked.

Hana gave a big grin, punching the air a bit.

"We beat them up, like what Mommy does to bad guys."

Makoto frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "No, Hana, first you tell them to stop, and if they don't, you tell the teacher."

"Ok…" Hana sheepishly said. "But when I tell them to stop, I look at them like this, right?"

She gave the fiercest Niijima glare her 5-year old self could muster.

"S-She's way too good at that for someone her age…" he whispered to his wife.

"That's my girl." she whispered back, brimming with pride.

Glancing back at the two of them, however, caused her to narrow her eyes.

"Kazuhiko, Hana, eat your vegetables too." Makoto said, pointing at their plates.

"But Mama-"

"Mommy-"

"No buts." Makoto interrupted. "Eating healthy is important."

"Um… I'm not really that hungry." Hana excused.

"That's fine." Makoto smiled. "But if you're not that hungry, you probably shouldn't have dessert either."

Hana gasped, clearly not expecting that answer.

"D-Daddy…?" she asked, a pleading look on her face.

As hard as it was to deny her, it was for her own good.

"Listen to your mother, Princess."

"I guess I'll go then..." Hana said, scampering off.

Keeping a sharp eye on her, he saw his daughter reaching inside the cookie jar, and quickly grabbed her hand.

"Well now, aren't you a little Phantom Thief?" he chuckled.

"Ehehehe…" she nervously chuckled.

Eventually, the two finished their vegetables, ate dessert and went to the living room to watch T.V.

"She's so stealthy…" Makoto sighed.

"Yeah… guess she took after me in that regard." he smirked. "Otherwise she'd be a lot easier to catch."

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "I'll have you know I'm a lot stealthier than I used to be!"

She let out a sigh.

"Kazuhiko tried sneaking up on me earlier today… with an upside down manga." she said, narrowing her eyes. "Said that he 'wanted to be just like Mommy'."

"Sounds like he's doing a good job." he smirked.

"What have you been telling him?" she asked.

"Hana and him wanted to know how we met." he said. "I didn't get him all the details, obviously. I just told them you were investigating, and I helped you arrest some bad men."

"I see. Well, I suppose that makes sense." Makoto nodded. "Will we… ever tell them the true story?"

"I don't know." he responded. "But… I wouldn't want them getting involved in any of the dangerous things we got up too…"

"They won't." she told him. "Because we'll always be there for them if they're in trouble. And so will Futaba, and Sojiro, and Sae, and all the others.

"Yeah… you're right." he agreed. "Everything will be just fine."

* * *

His eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the morning light.

So he was dreaming…

A dream where he was married to Makoto…

And he… had enjoyed it.

Looking down, he saw the literal girl of his dreams, still nuzzled against his chest.

Right, she had stayed the night. That part hadn't been a dream, at least.

Evidently, she was a cuddler in her sleep.

So that was nice.

"Good morning, Ren." she beamed, her eyes fluttering open.

"Good morning, my sleepy Queen." Ren smiled, pecking her cheek.

She let out a gasp.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"N-Nothing." she smiled, recalling her dream. "B-But… maybe we could… sleep in? It is Sunday, after all…"

"Yeah." he said. "I'd like that."

Maybe it was a bit early to be thinking about marriage and children…

But for now, they could enjoy this moment.

"Hrrmph!"

His eyes widened, Makoto giving a squeak as he searched for the source of the voice.

"Oh, Morgana." he said. "You scared me."

The cat simply sighed, his eyes downcast.

"Morgana, are you ok?" he asked.

"She doesn't seem to have any problems getting you to go to bed." Morgana muttered bitterly. "I didn't even hear you complain…"

It took a few seconds for Makoto to realize what he meant.

"You can't be serious…" Makoto muttered in disbelief. "He's actually jealous."

Morgana sighed again, moving to the corner of the attic.

"Is he… going to be ok?" Makoto asked.

"He'll be fine once I feed him some sushi." he said.

"So… did you have any good dreams, Ren?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"I did. I… was living a wonderful life. I had my dream job, and… other things I wanted."

"That does sound pleasant." she nodded. "I… had a similar dream, myself."

"Really? You two?"

"I did...say, Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll… help each other achieve our dreams, right?" she whispered, her cheeks tinted red.

"Of course we will." he whispered back, equally as flushed.

"Good. I… really hope my dream comes true some day…"

"So do I, Makoto. So do I…"


End file.
